It resembles an owl faced monkey (Cercopithecus hamlyni), but its colouring was different to that of any other species.

Researchers writing in the journal PLoS ONE have urged the government in Congo to intervene and protect the species.

The calls come after the team discovered other wild lesula living in the remote area, where they spend much of their time in deep forests, eating leafstalks, fruit and flower buds.

Although the 6,500 square mile area where the animal is found is remote, researchers have warned that it is facing extinction as a result of hunting for bush meat.

Researcher John Hart said: ‘Species with small ranges like the lesula can move from vulnerable to seriously endangered over the course of just a few years.’

They called for controls on hunting and the creation of a protected area covering its habitat to protect the lesula and other wildlife found in the region, which is one of the nation’s last unexplored forests.

The discovery of the new species is only the second time a new monkey species has been found in Africa in the last 28 years.